Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Flarelaine]

You need to actually have a readership/circulation numbers to be able to ask for much in the way of advertising fees.

Not if it's a money laundering scheme.

[Breccia]

Looks like we have news about a voter lawsuit in Arizona.

"Surely that must be the Kari Lake bombshell she's been promising for weeks!"

No...it appears to be about a conflict between the League of Women Voters (of Arizona) and--

"Who'd sue them?"

Hmm? Oh, nobody. They sued the activist group Clean Elections USA, who were forming human walls around ballot boxes, screaming election fraud lies and brandishing firearms.

"Oh...um...that sounds really illegal."

A different judge agrees.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against Jennings' group in November after the Justice Department weighed in on the case — arguing in a filing that "vigilante ballot security efforts" may have violated the Voting Rights Act.

The order prevented the group from going within 75 feet of a ballot drop box, photographing voters, openly carrying firearms or making false statements" about election laws.

So when I say "it is not a crime to lie to the American people" there are now exceptions.

"Well, at least they can still use that name Clean Elections. It might help people forget they're a bunch of election fraud screaming, gun-brand...why are you shaking your head?"

The non-partisan state election agency Citizens Clean Elections Commission won an injunction against founder Jennings and her group preventing them from using the name Clean Elections USA.

"Okay. Wow. So, which was the one you wrote this post about?"

Oh, neither. The League of Women Voters got a settlement.

"Well, at least like all the other settlements we've seen, they won't be forced to publicly apologize."

The League of Women Voters of Arizona said in a statement that in settling the case, the poll-watching group and its founder Melody Jennings have "agreed to publicly condemn intimidation of any kind in connection with the exercise of the right to vote."

"This litigation has been essential to protect the voters of Arizona, who have the right to cast their ballots free from intimidation, threats, or coercion,” said Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona, in the group's statement.

Alexander Kolodin, an attorney for Jennings and her group, told the Washington Post Sunday that "both sides value and wish to protect freedom of speech and the right to free assembly while also condemning any sort of voter intimidation."

Ah, yes, they valued it so much they got dragged into court and lost three times for trying to stop it.

When the voter suppression group formerly known as Clean Elections was asked for comment, they hissed over their shoulder and fled into a dark cave.

The Kari Lake case is in the judge's hands now. As a reminder, Lake is being represented by two attorneys who were both sanctioned for saying 35,000 votes appeared out of thin air. (One of these lawyers is also a Cyber Ninja) The case is an effective redo of part of her earlier case, as six of her seven counts were not allowed an appeal. This means she had one chance here: to prove that signature verification didn't happen and also this cost her the race. As we've seen, this seems mathematically, erm, "challenging" in much the same way it's challenging to swim up a waterfall. Lake lost by more votes than she even claimed were not verified, and then her own star witness said, in court, under oath, "What I Meant Was, signature verification was in fact going on as normal".

Kari Lake has not yet conceded defeat, and may or may not have paid her lawyers for defeat after defeat. By all credible accounts, this is her final option. Barring a massive legal loophole or miracle, she's going to lose this one too, meaning she'll have nothing to show for this but a string of failures, mockery, and possibly retaliation lawsuits by her own lawyers when they don't get paid (I'm just assuming that last one, read this thread back, you know the evidence is on my side).

Maybe she'll change her name to Great Salt.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

6) Mike Pence just now discovered Dunkin Donuts.

No, really. Scroll down that tweet, there are some good replies. One of my favorites is "Yeah, nothin says Man of the People more than trying Dunkin for the first time at 63."

Further proof that Mike Pence is just a robot pretending to be human.

[Captain N]

Further proof that Mike Pence is just a robot pretending to be human.

[Edge-]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2343561.html

Trump apparently think he can get in on that sweet defamation settlement action, despite all his attempts thus far going about as well as Trump Steaks. In that they went nowhere.

$3.8B defamation lawsuit over Truth Social reporting, specifically reporting on a whistleblower that alleged that the company concealed details about a proposed merger from the SEC. A whistleblower who has reportedly handed over 150K internal documents to the feds as a part of their own investigation into Truth Social for money laundering and separate SEC and FRA investigations as well.

Remember, he was just ordered to pay the NYT attorney fees after his lawsuit against them was tossed.

[Breccia]

$3.8B defamation lawsuit over Truth Social reporting, specifically reporting on a whistleblower that alleged that the company concealed details about a proposed merger from the SEC. A whistleblower who has reportedly handed over 150K internal documents to the feds as a part of their own investigation into Truth Social for money laundering and separate SEC and FRA investigations as well.

(deep breath)

(long exhale)

It's only defamation if it's [known to be false. Or, same idea, they should have known it was false.

Nothing about the feds investigating Truth Social is new. There is no reason to believe a whistleblower handing the feds documents for an investigation we know is happening, is obviously false.

Let's also add: there is a negative one hundred percent chance Truth Social was worth $4 billion. Meaning, the assertion is WaPo should be fined "two entire Forbes' estimation of Trump's worth" as punative damages, and give that to Trump.

I hope you're right about Trump having to pay WaPo's lawyer fees. I also hope the lawyers that bring this get schooled. I've never set foot in any law school and even I know this is the opposite of how it works.

[postman1782]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/n...efamation.html

You may think that was from the case that he already lost without clicking the link, but NOPE. E. Jean Carroll is suing his stupid ass again because of what he said during the CNN townhall. I think she should sue CNN as well if they didn't push back against him. She is basically asking the judge to make the terms of the judgement harsher so he gets the point. He won't get the point til it probably hits 10 figures, because he will just ask his stupid followers for more money. 5 million was nothing to him, he got that the day of the CNN townhall most likely from his gullible followers.

Hopefully this will be a swift judgement in her favor.

[Edge-]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/n...efamation.html

You may think that was from the case that he already lost without clicking the link, but NOPE. E. Jean Carroll is suing his stupid ass again because of what he said during the CNN townhall. I think she should sue CNN as well if they didn't push back against him. She is basically asking the judge to make the terms of the judgement harsher so he gets the point. He won't get the point til it probably hits 10 figures, because he will just ask his stupid followers for more money. 5 million was nothing to him, he got that the day of the CNN townhall most likely from his gullible followers.

Hopefully this will be a swift judgement in her favor.

I'm here for Trump never being able to let this go and just stacking additional penalties/judgements until Carroll basically owns him.

[postman1782]

I'm here for Trump never being able to let this go and just stacking additional penalties/judgements until Carroll basically owns him.

He already isn't worth jack, so just about everyone that he owes money to, including Russia and China, owns him. Which is why he reacts favorably to Xi and Putin.

[Breccia]

Trump megadonor abandons him.

Hal Lambert, founder and CEO of Texas-based Point Bridge Capital, said he wants to "do a lot to help DeSantis win" amid strong speculation the Florida governor will confirm his presidential campaign in the coming days.

Lambert, who set up an exchange-traded fund named after the former president's Make America Great Again 2016 campaign slogan, MAGA ETF, and previously served on Trump's inaugural committee in 2016, told the New York Post that he decided to back DeSantis after meeting with him and his wife in Florida three weeks ago.

Lambert said he was also put off by Trump's recent CNN town hall, where Trump continued to falsely claim the 2020 election was "rigged."

Yes, the issue was him claiming it was rigged last week. Not, say, the preceeding two years.

"What voters who didn't vote for Trump in 2020 are going to vote for him this time based on his performance? I don't think anyone will," Lambert told the Post. "We can't talk about things from four years ago that can't be changed. Trump is going to have a difficult time winning the general election. The election won't be about Joe Biden's bad record. It will be a referendum on Trump instead."

Yes, that was him not saying "Trump is wrong" or "Trump is lying" or "Trump lost". He said "can't be changed".

Addressing DeSantis's recent poor polling, Lambert suggested that Trump's lead will start to erode once the Florida governor officially enters the race.

"Trump's support will drop under 50 percent," Lambert said.

So what we're seeing here is a Trump cultist trying to jump ship. Not a classic conservative who finally had enough. Not a Republican who went along for the ride but deciding enough's enough. This is an actual cultist. And even he is backing away.

Somewhat related: remember Robert Zeidman?

"The guy who took Lindell's bet and won?"

Yes, and Lindell didn't want to pay, so it went to Minnesota court, and the Minnesota court unanimously agreed with Zeidman. They ordered Lindell to pay what he owed within 30 days.

Big surprise, he hasn't paid yet. (-1 CNN point)

Less big surprise, Lindell is suing on the grounds of corruption.

"On what evidence?"

He hasn't said. He just noted that several laws allow for an arbitration order to be vacated if corruption is found. So he's going to court to yell "Corruption!" and hope it works.

It won't.

“This is a complete sham. A complete sham,” Lindell told CNN. “The bottom line is this thing is wrong, and I’m not stopping until we prove him wrong.”

To be fair, CNN called on the phone for comment. Lindell was not given a town hall meeting.

While I admit it is physically possible that the arbitration body Lindell personally asked for was yuge bigly rigged JOBS! against him, I don't think Zeidman had enough money to bribe the three-member panel who wrote and signed this twenty-four page decision consisting of all the evidence that Zeidman had and Lindell didn't, and more to the point, if there were 24 pages of discussion of the reason for the victory, there wasn't a need to bribe anyone. Also the panel denied Zeidman's claim for legal fees, so if he did in fact bribe them, he didn't get his money's worth.

You'll notice that decision was written April 19th and gave Lindell 30 days to pay. Lindell waited till the last minute, then sued. If he's found to have done this in bad faith, he might be facing further penalties, especially if he accuses the arbitration team he specifically asked for of corruption, under oath, with no evidence. We're looking at defamation and perjury here.

[Gorsameth]

The problem for me with the cultists abandoning ship is that they are not saying they were wrong. They just move to another crazy candidate and that does nothing to remedy the fascist slide the US is going on.

[Breccia]

The problem for me with the cultists abandoning ship is that they are not saying they were wrong.

Expect that to continue. The phrase I use is "they would rather die than admit they were wrong". And look back at their history.\

For example, Kari Lake loses final chance at overturning democracy.

Now this just happened, but I'm going to start a one-week timer. So, by not this reset but next reset, we are looking for Lake to do the following:
1) claim she still won
2) claim she's not done fighting
3) tell "the people" that she's fighting "for them"

What won't happen in the next week, maybe at all?
1) Kari lake to concede the race.

- - - Updated - - -

Once again, it is not a good day to be Donald Trump.

"It's 10AM!"

Yes.

1) The Axios Harris poll is an annual ranking of the top 100 most recognized brands in the US, ranked by favorable opinion.

Trump Org came in dead last. Again.

"How good can this poll possibly be? Who was number one?"

Trader Joe's.

"...nevermind, that's a really good store."

2) The NYTimes reports that the special counsel is looking at all of Trump's overseas funding.

"Wait a minute. Didn't you just say there shouldn't be such an investigation without probable cause? What cause was there?"

That Trump and his family keep bragging about foreign money, and foreign goverments keep publicly giving him money, like the residents of Trump Tower and the prospective buyers of 666 5th Ave.

"Okay, fine."

And the Russians who keep buying his overpriced real est--

"I get it! But wasn't Smith looking at Mar-a-Lago?"

3) Both the Guardian and CNN (-1 point) report that Smith has been going over Corcoran's notes, detailing Trump's direct and specific orders to fight the subpoena at Mar-a-Lago.

"That's going to be tough. Corcoran is a lawyer who represents Trump."

Was. He left the Mar-a-Lago case. Quite possibly because he doesn't want to go to jail for Trump.

Special counsel Jack Smith has obtained dozens of pages of notes that Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran took last spring, memorializing conversations with his client after the former president received the subpoena last May and before a key meeting with the Justice Department a few weeks later when Trump’s legal team said they had turned over all classified records they could find, the sources told CNN.

The notes provide more insight into Trump’s thinking and actions during a critical time frame as the special counsel pursues its criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified material and the possibility he obstructed the investigation.

Smith obtained the notes after an extraordinary court fight that ended with a federal judge ruling there was sufficient evidence to suggest Trump used his attorney in furtherance of a crime. That allowed prosecutors to pierce attorney-client privilege and obtain Corcoran’s notes and additional grand jury testimony from him.

While there are a variety of ways Smith could have gotten those, I think the most realistic is "he asked Corcoran and Corcoran handed them over". The notes are from May 11 to June 3. Two months before the raid. Trump never complied, despite his own lawyer telling him he had no choice.

Let's not forget, Corcoran (and others?) may have an escape clause here. Corcoran, at least, did tell the feds there were no more stolen documents "to the best of his knowledge". If his notes, or testimony when asked nicely, further that defense, Corcoran can throw Trump under the bus. I don't know if he wants to, but if the only two options are "your client goes to jail for the crime you know he did" and "you and your client both go to jail for the crime you did together" I am pretty sure I know where most shady lawyers would go. Or probably most humans in general. Has Corcoran been paid yet?

4) That defamation lawsuit I posted about yesterday is already being publicly mocked. And not just by anonymous assholes like me.

In order to win a defamation case, the plaintiff must prove the defendant acted with "actual malice"—meaning they were aware that a statement was untrue or acted with "reckless disregard" as to whether it was false or not.

In this case, Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los-Angeles-based employment and defamation attorney, suggested that TMTG are going to have "a very difficult time" proving The Post committed actual malice given their claims stemmed from various sources, including whistleblower Wilkerson.

"I don't see anything in The Washington Post article that seems to be obviously false, and the amount the plaintiff is seeking certainly seems a bit absurd," Dowlatshahi told Newsweek. "It's very unlikely TMTG can prove the requisite degree of actual malice on a defamation claim like this and even if they did, to prove nearly $3.8 billion in damages is really far-fetched.

"I don't even think the company is worth $1 billion, so how are they injured to the point where the business is worthless based on certain statements in this article? It just doesn't make any sense," Dowlatshahi said.

Dowlatshahi suggested there are key differences between the defamation allegations TMTG is aiming at The Post, and what Fox was accused of.

"There, Dominion's entire business hinged on the legitimacy of their systems, which Fox News falsely challenged," he said. "In this case, it strains credulity to imagine that a social media platform's involvement, or lack thereof, with certain investors, would somehow destroy any and all value of the business, or preclude users from continuing to use it."

It's been my experience, having read articles like this plenty of times, that experts such as these lawyers don't use terms like "impossible" because there's always a chance there's a loophole they don't know. It's not like the law is simple enough to put in 140 characters. But when they say things like "it strains credibility" they're using the legal-ese variant.

5) Trump is likely in a Zoom meeting right now, the purpose of which is for a judge to tell Trump things he's not allowed to say in public about....which case?

(checks news)

The false business records case. Or, cases, there are 34 counts. Apparently Trump has gotten judges nationwide sick of his bullshit, and if he starts naming prosecutors or witnesses he could be held in contempt and hopefully even thrown in jail. We know there's no gag order, but attacking witnesses is not okay.

- - - Terms of Service - - -

6) Trump $130,000 whore money trial scheduled for March 2024.

That should make some interesting primary debate questions.

[gondrin]

So, what happens when the man who cannot shut up about anything keeps opening his mouth?

Well, read on.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...923849fa5&ei=8

"Trump keeps defaming E. Jean Carroll": Trump's new Truth Social attack could badly backfire

Donald Trump attacked E. Jean Carroll after she amended her 2019 defamation lawsuit to include the former president's attacks at this month's CNN town hall.

Carroll's Monday filing followed Trump's continued denial of her sexual assault and defamation allegations, even after a jury found the ex-president liable for both counts on May 9. The columnist is seeking further damages in addition to the $5 million she was awarded earlier this month.

During a CNN town hall appearance only a day after being found liable, Trump repudiated Carroll's claims, calling her a "wack job" and referring to the case as "a rigged deal."

"This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll's favor both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same," the filing says.

NBC reported that the newly refined suit seeks a total of at least $10 million in damages as well as additional "punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial.

"I don't know E. Jean Carroll," Trump wrote in a Tuesday Truth Social post. "I never met her or touched her (except on a celebrity line with her African American husband who she disgustingly called the "Ape,"), I wouldn't want to know or touch her, I never abused her or raped her or took her to a dressing room 25 years ago in a crowded department store where the doors are LOCKED, she has no idea when, or did anything else to her, except deny her Fake, Made Up Story, that she wrote in a book. IT NEVER HAPPENED, IS A TOTAL SCAM, UNFAIR TRIAL!"

Trump also argued that the Carroll case had a distinctly political motivation, writing that it was "part of the Democrats playbook to tarnish my name and person, much like the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, the 51 Intelligence Agents, FBI/Twitter Files, and so much more."

"It is being funded and tried by Democrat operatives, although this was denied by them, and when they got caught in the lie, the Clinton appointed judge would not let us use it in trial," he continued. "Time will prove him to be highly partisan & very unfair. Where's the dress she said she had?"

Trump, who waived his right to testify in the trial, has filed notice that he will appeal the May 9 verdict.

"Trump keeps defaming E Jean Carroll," Jose Pagliery, who covered the trial for The Daily Beast, tweeted in response to Trump's latest attack. "This afternoon, a NY state court judge in an unrelated case will warn Trump about his online behavior. He's giving the judge ample reason to doubt whether he can abide by court orders—and common decency. Quite the fast-moving train wreck."

"Trump just wants to keep paying @ejeancarroll more and more money in damages," quipped MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang.

I mean, if Trump wants to keep upping the damages, so be it. Pretty soon she could sue to get Mar-A-Lago as her property at the rate he is going.

[Edge-]

So, what happens when the man who cannot shut up about anything keeps opening his mouth?

Well, read on.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...923849fa5&ei=8



I mean, if Trump wants to keep upping the damages, so be it. Pretty soon she could sue to get Mar-A-Lago as her property at the rate he is going.

I'm telling you, in a few years Carroll is going to basically own him with the stacked penalties because he's incapable of keeping his mouth shut or stopping his tiny fingers from tapping on his phone.

[YUPPIE]

So it's been a while since I've commentated here, but it's interesting how the last time, it was said Trump would be in prison or similar before any chance of re-election.

But nothing came of it since. And now the fear he will be re-elected has come to pass, as both Hungary and Germany have commentated on it.

[DarkTZeratul]

And now the fear he will be re-elected has come to pass, as both Hungary and Germany have commentated on it.

In what universe has it even remotely come to pass? We haven't even had the election yet!

[YUPPIE]

In what universe has it even remotely come to pass? We haven't even had the election yet!

I mean the fact it's even a probability has come to pass. If Trump were convicted or in deep trouble, he wouldn't have the ability of entering politics like this again. Like the fact Schulz said he wants Biden to win over Trump for example suggests Trump is going to be a candidate.

He escaped justice to reach this point.

[DarkTZeratul]

I mean the fact it's even a probability has come to pass.

This is literally meaningless. "Come to pass" means it's happened. You can't say something's come to pass just because it's theoretically possible.

If Trump were convicted or in deep trouble, he wouldn't have the ability of entering politics like this again. Like the fact Schulz said he wants Biden to win over Trump for example suggests Trump is going to be a candidate.

He escaped justice to reach this point.

"This point" is exactly the same point he's been at for the last two years. Nothing has happened. Nothing has changed. He's absolutely no better off than he was. Come back when the primaries are over and he's actually won the nomination, then maybe something will have "come to pass." Until then, you're talking out of your ass just because someone in another country mentioned his name once.

[gondrin]

So this can go in either this thread OR the Fox thread. I'll put it here as the subject is about Agent Orange.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...79b6ee41c&ei=5

Trump Wants a Payout After Dominion Settles Fox Lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump feels entitled to a payout after Dominion Voting Systems settled with Fox News.

Dominion and Fox agreed to settle a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit in April. The lawsuit is one of several addressing statements made by Fox News hosts regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 election. The lawsuit spawned from the privately-owned voting equipment company challenging Fox News' claims about Dominion regarding the election. The companies agreed to settle for $787.5 million, and Trump feels it's only fair if he receives compensation for the pain he suffered at the hands of media organizations as well.

"Dominion gets almost a Billion Dollars and I, after years of Fake News, Hoaxes, Scams, and Investigations, am entitled to NOTHING? Is that really the way it's supposed to work? I don't think so!" Trump posted on his social media outlet Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon.

His Truth Social rant today comes on the heels of the lawsuit his media group filed against The Washington Post on Saturday. That lawsuit, experts have said, "doesn't make any sense." Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which is behind the former president's Truth Social platform, is seeking $3.78 billion in damages from the newspaper over claims it poses an "existential threat" to the company after engaging in a "years-long crusade" against the company.

"I don't even think [Trump Media and Technology Group] is worth $1 billion, so how are they injured to the point where the business is worthless based on certain statements in this article? It just doesn't make any sense," Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles-based employment and defamation attorney, said.

Newsweek reached out to a Trump spokesperson by email for comment.

Trump, who often labels news stories that are not in his favor to be "fake news", has argued for years that the 2020 election was rigged in President Joe Biden's favor, despite countless lawsuits finding otherwise. The claims led to national disarray, resulting in the siege of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 and also becoming the backbone of Trump's 2024 presidential election bid, of which he leads the Republican candidates.

Trump also faced legal woes over the claims, with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis exploring if Trump's comment to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" the votes he needed to win was an illegal action attempting to overturn the election. Trump continues to refer to the phone call as "perfect".

Trump proved that he wasn't likely to stop talking about election fraud anytime soon when he spoke with CNN host Kaitlan Collins in a live town hall event on May 10.

When pressed on the legitimacy of his beliefs by Collins, Trump pushed back and held steadfast that he believed election fraud was the reason he lost the 2020 election. A member of the crowd also questioned Trump on if he'll stop saying "polarizing" comments about election fraud during his 2024 presidential bid.

Trump agreed to suspend the polarizing talk, unless he believed election fraud had occurred, which he has already hinted would be present in the 2024 election when he raged last Wednesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice were conducting multiple investigations to attempt to conduct interference in the 2024 election.

Remember folks, because Fox News was found out to be lying, according to Trump, he deserves something.

- - - Updated - - -

I mean the fact it's even a probability has come to pass. If Trump were convicted or in deep trouble, he wouldn't have the ability of entering politics like this again. Like the fact Schulz said he wants Biden to win over Trump for example suggests Trump is going to be a candidate.

He escaped justice to reach this point.

In the US, unless you are convicted of sedition or treason, you can run for the office of the Presidency or any other federal office.

[s_bushido]

In the US, unless you are convicted of sedition or treason, you can run for the office of the Presidency or any other federal office.

Honestly...if I had my way, any of these fuckers beating this "rigged elections" drum would have been convicted already. How a person can lose and election, make the lies about how he lost his main talking point in an attempt to usurp power, and simply be able to run again with ZERO consequences is beyond me.